Salted Caramel Shortbread Squares

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Salted Caramel Shortbread Squares

I thought about posting a salad this week. Something to help me detox from the all the sweet potato souffle this Thanksgiving. But let’s face it. No one wants to hear about salad right now. Hauling out the holly also means the beginning of the Christmas baking season. For me that means two things, homemade caramels and shortbread cookies. So can you blame me for not being able to get this Pinterest find off my mind? Check out this beauty….of Salted Caramel Shortbread Squares.

A layer of buttery shortbread on the bottom. A nice, home-brewed caramel layer in the middle and a little salt sprinkled on top for flavor and flare. It’s Christmas baking to Luke Perry-level perfection.

Nothing unexpected. Just the staples you’ll need to survive for the next three weeks. Then we start with the shortbread.

Melted butter, add in the sugar, flour and salt. Let it cool slightly and add in beaten egg. Press into an 8×8 pan lined with parchment. (I used a bit of spray to help the paper stick to the bottom.) Leaving some overhang will help you remove the block later on.

As the shortbread is cooling you can work on the caramel. I was going for the soft ball stage here. (235-244 degrees) I think I went a little past it (about 250) but it turned out just fine. I haven’t done the softball check for, like, ever. But here is what I learned in hindsight. You drop a spoonful of hot syrup into ice water. In the water, use your fingers to gather the cooled syrup into a ball. If it has reached soft-ball stage, the syrup easily forms a ball while in the cold water, but flattens once removed from the water. (I wish I could have photographed this step but Googling how to do it while keeping the mixture from boiling over while getting the ice water ready while shaking a child off my leg made it absolutely impossible.)

A note for those of you using thermometers. Check the accuracy of your thermometer by measuring plain boiling water. It should be 212 degrees at sea level. For every 1000 feet you gain in elevation, subtract 2 degrees. The degree range I gave you above (235-244 degrees) is based on your elevation. I’m right around sea level so I had to go towards the upper end of the range. Those of you at higher elevations won’t have to wait so long. Remember, subtract 2 degrees per 1000 feet.

Are you feeling terrified right now? Don’t. I was able to make it work with virtually no caramel-making experience. The squares will be tasty at any point in the caramel softness spectrum.

Let it cool slightly, then pour over the shortbread. Sprinkle with a coarse salt (such as kosher or sea salt) if desired. I think it is yummy and gorgeous.

Let it cool in the refrigerator for a couple hours. Then cut and serve. I wouldn’t leave them at room temp for more than a couple hours. The caramel may start to lose it’s shape a bit. When you plate, make sure the squares aren’t touching so they don’t stick together. Store in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.

I like to sprinkle a little more salt on top before serving. Just look how pretty. Now if that doesn’t say “Eat me” I don’t know what does. (So maybe nothing really says that but… never mind.)

About Sarah

Sarah is a full-time mom and part-time everything else. She loves cooking with her two girls even if half of the ingredients end up on the floor. Recently adding a newborn boy to the mix, Sarah has a renewed appreciation for sleep and carbs. In her spare time Sarah enjoys photography, laughing with friends, family bike rides and being the last one to finish the CrossFit workout.

I was actually surprised at how clean the cut was. I used a sharp knife and didn’t do anything else. But one thing you can do is this: Run the knife under hot water, wipe dry, cut, then run under hot water again before you make the next cut. That’s the best advice I can give on that subject!

Oh my gosh those look so yummy. I think I gained ten pounds just looking at the pictures. I have put the homemade caramel on brownies but never on shortbread. Going to have to try this. LOL! Dieting can wait until January. Thanks for sharing.

This recipe looks absolutely scrumpscious. And thank you so much for the tips about cooking a higher altitudes. I live in the mountains of Southern California, above Palm Springs, at 6000 feet (yes, we get snow). I find these types of tips very helpful.

I made these delicious looking shortbread bars…Had a bit of trouble cutting them. Warming the knife in hot water and oiling it EACH time a made a cut eliminated the problem of the caramel sticking to the knife. Thank you for the recipe and directions!

Oh my goodness, genius serving them in mini muffin papers! I made these tonight for my party and they were a HUGE hit, but just like you said they started losing shape after an hour and then were a jumbled mess on the plate. I apparently missed the instruction where you said to not plate them right next to each other. Whoop! Seriously…don’t plate them right next to each other. I will definitely make these again and I’m totally using the mini muffin papers. Other than the sticking issue (which was my bad) these turned out perfect. Thanks for such a great recipe!

These look AMAZING! I am going to make these for a potluck. Couple of questions…. In the directions you say to add salt for the shortbread but you have no salt in shortbread ingredients. You have 1tsp of salt under the caramel ingredients; is that for the shortbread or the caramel? Does salt go in the caramel too?

In shortbread directions you say to “Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until it begins to brown. Let cool.” Do we need to put in frig for 30min before baking?

Sorry, I am baking dummy and need to follow directions or I have no idea what I am doing, lol.

I made these! I actually doubled the batch, but had them in separate dishes to take to two different functions. They were delicious. I did have trouble with my caramel running and melting into the serving plate. I’m wondering if that means I didn’t cook my caramel long enough on the stovetop? I believe I got it to the correct temperature (softball stage) based on the ice water test and my thermometer, but like I said, the caramel didn’t hold up like in your picture above. 5 minutes out of the fridge and it began drooping. I will play around some more with them and try to get the carmel more firm. These were definitely a winner with the crowd! Great, great post! 🙂

Man. I’m sorry they didn’t work perfectly for you. Caramel can be a tricky little bugger. The only suggestion I would have is to cook it longer. I’ve heard that humidity in the air can also affect how it turns out.

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